Machine for stripping and sorting tobacco leaves



Feb. 21, 1939.

F. A. B. DITTRICH 2,148,015 MACHINE FOR S'I'fiIPPTNG AND SORTING TOBACCO LEAVES Filed April 7, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet l F. A. B. DITTRICH Feb 21, 1939.

J MACHINE FOR STRIPPING AND SOR'I'ING TOBACCO LEAVES Filed April 7, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 21, 1939.

F. A; DlTTRlCH MACHINE FOR STRIPPING AND SOR'IING TOBACCO LEAVES 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 7, 1937 I1" Il g T149 9. N a V- Feb, 21, 1939.

F. A. B. DITTRICH MACHINE won STRIPPING AND SORTING TOBACCO LEAVES Filed April 7, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet4 l 'T L Patented Feb. 21 1939 PATENT OFFICE MACHINE FOR STRIPPING AND SORTING TOBACCO LEAVES Fritz Arthur Bernhard Dittrich, Dresden, Germany, assignon to Universelle Cigarettenmaschinen-Fabrik J. C. Mueller & 00.,Dresden,

. Germany Application April '7, 1937, Serial No. 135,412

4 Claims.

ping and sorting tobacco leaves. More particularly, the invention has for its object to provide an improved machine inwhich the stripping and sorting of tobacco leaves in diifereni conditions and states of strip, may be carried out without having to adjust and re-adjust the stripping mechanism.

It has been found that in the stripping of tobacco certain parts pass through the stripping and sorting machine without being sufiiciently stripped, and this requires that they be put through the machine a second time. However, the tobacco which has once been subjected to stripping, action and which is' again to be put through the stripper, requires a diiiervent adjustment of the stripper than tobacco which has not been subjected to stripping action. Accordingly, when the machine is adjusted for tobacco which has already been put through a stripper once, it requires re-adjustment for the unstripped tobacco. This constant adjustment and re-adjustment takes valuable time, and'reduces the output of the machine. Also, such machines are constructed in the light of working on the unstripped tobacco in certain quantities, and tobacco whichhas been put'through a stripper once, when put through such a machine for the second time, does not require so large a machine, as the quantities operated upon are smaller. Such methods are unsatisfactory for other reasons. I

The object of the'invention is to overcome these disadvantages, and to provide a machine The invention consists. in a machine for strip ping and sorting tobacco in which the'tobacco to be stripped is first subjected to a stripping action and thereafter sorted, and the-insufliciently stripped stems are then subjected to a further stripping to remove their leaves, all this being carried out under a unitary operative system and in a manner which does not require the tobacco necessary to be treated to leave- Germany April 11, 1936 (Cl; 131-60) This invention relates to a machine for stripthe machine. The invention then combines a I plurality of stripping devices, each followed by a sorting device, and these joined together by a common transport means to supply the subsequent stripper and sorter with tobacco to be 5 stripped, after the tobacco has been once stripped and sorted and found wanting.

The invention will be more fully described hereinafter, embodiments thereof will be shown in the drawings, and the invention-will be fin ally pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a detail side elevation of themachine;

Figure 2 is a front elevation partly broke away of the machine showing the tobacco entry side;

Figure 3 is a section taken on line lII-III of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a top view of the machine.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Figure 1, the tobacco to be stripped and sorted enters at A and is moved by the conveyer 32 in the direction of the arrow 32a. to the strippers, the construction of which forms no part of this invention. The leaves having been separated from the stems, these fall upon the inclined conveyer 36, and being moved in the direction of the arrow 36a. enter the lower part of the sorting device- In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, a partition 130' forms two vertically arranged compartments 13a and 14b. Air is induced to flow into these two compartments 13a and 131) by a ventilator or-suitable device 14, shown also in Figure 4. This air causes the parts of the leaves and stems which are capable of being raised, to ascend. The lighter leaves or parts thereof are carried upwardly to a confined portion or channel 15, and are here subjected to a suction action of the air which carries along the lighter leaves or parts thereof and guides them to the funnel-like space 18. Dust or dust particles are removed through the sieve ll. These sorted out tobacco parts enter the discharge device 42a and are discharged from the machine.

The tobacco leaves which still remain. on the stems. cannot ascend high enough in the com-v partments 13a and 13b, and drop down therein and descend into the discharge chute 18. They drop upon a conveyer ll arranged transversely to the machine, as seen in Figure 2. They are then conveyed by conveyers 62, 53 and 59 to a funnel 55 discharge mechanism, which discharges from the over a pulley 5 on a shaft 1 supported on shaft 5|.

supply chute 19, which feeds them to the secondary strippers indicated generally in Figure 2 by II. Having been again stripped, they drop upon the conveyer 36 common to all sets of strippers,

' and are then subjected to a sorting action as before described, in a separate sorting device such as described, which is separated from the first sorting device by the vertical partition 30. The lighter parts are discharged as described, but the heavier parts which cannot ascend in the second sorting device, drop on to the conveyer 88 and are moved in the direction of the arrow 68a. These are usually merely stems stripped of all leaf matter. They are discharged into the discharge container 8|.

For the purpose of carrying out the mode of operation described, certain instrumentalities are utilized. These, in their general arrangement, enter into the improved machine embodying the invention, but may be changed in their specific forms without departing from the underlying principle of the invention.

In Figure 1 the frame I supports the stripping mechanism (shown in dotted lines), which frame has the usual standards 2 and 3. A motor 4 (also in Figure 4), drives a belt 5 which passes the standard 2. Another pulley 8'is supported on this shaft 1 and its belt 9 operates the pulleys II), II and i2. The pulleys II and I2 drive shafts l3 and I4, respectively, and the shafts l3 and I4 operate the stripping devices I30. and No. On the shaft I (Figure 4) there is also a pulley l5 driving a belt l6, passing over pulley l'l, supported on the shaft l8, which shaft l8 operates the ventilator 14.

A motor [9 (Figure 1) operates the belt 20 passing over the pulley 2| upon the shaft 22 on which another pulley 23 is provided, which by means of the belt 24' operates the pulley 25 having its shaft 26 supported on the'frame l. Upon this shaft 26 there is provided another pulley 21, which by means ofthe belt 28 moves a pulley 29 on a shaft 30. The shaft 30 also supports a pulley 3i for the feed apron 32, which passes over the pulley 34 on the shaft 33. This feed apron 32 supplies the stripping mechanism with the necessary amount of tobacco to be subjected to the first stripping operation, and as seen, is operated by the motor l9.

Upon the shaft 22 there is a pulley 35 which drives anendless conveyer belt 36 which receives the stripped tobacco from the first stripping device, and transports such stripped tobacco to the sorting device. The belt 36 passes over the pulley 38 upon the shaft 31. The rotation of shaft 3! drives the pulley 39 secured thereto, and operates a belt 46 passing over the pulley 4| upon the shaft '42 supported by the frame of the machine. The shaft 42 rotates in turn the blades 42a of a machine the tobacco leaves and the like which were light enough in weight to be carried by the air stream through the constricted portion I5.

Referring to Figure 3, there is arranged on the shaft 31 a pulley 43 supporting a crossed belt 44, which passes over the pulley 45 on the shaft 46 supported on the frame of the machine. There is also a pulley 48 on the shaft 46, which pulley, by means of the belt 43 and pulley 50, drives the Upon this shaft 5! there is a drum 52 over which an endless transport band 53 passes, which also passes over the drum 54. The band 53 is provided with cross strips 55 arranged transversely to the direction of movement of the band.

The drum 54 is rotated by the shaft 56 which has a bevel gear 56a meshing with bevel gear 51a of the shaft 51 (see Figure 4). On the shaft 51 is also a pulley 58 over which passes a belt 59 in turn passing over the pulley 60 (see also Fi ure 2). The belt 55 supplies the tobacco which has been stripped once to the second and specialLv constructed stripper adapted to specially handle and strip previously stripped tobacco.

Referring to Figure 3, upon the shaft 46 there is also a sprocket 8i which rotates a chain belt 62. It passes over a sprocket 63 and is held by tension rollers or sprockets 64 and 65 under the desired tension, whereby also a part of the belt 62 receives an upward direction. The sprocket 63 is secured to the shaft 66, and rotates the same. By

suitable transmissions 61a (Fig. 2) the movement of the shaft 66 is transferred to the pulley 61 over which the belt 68 passes and is moved thereby. A pulley I0 is in turn moved by the pulley 63 by a belt 67a, which pulley 10 ,moves the belt II, which in turn moves the pulley 12 (see Figure 2) As before stated, the stems with leaves thereon drop from the chute 18 upon the apron I! and are moved across the machine, and underneath the same, by the apron II moving in the direction of the arrow 1 la shown in Figure 2, and by means of the apron 62' are brought to the apron 53, and then on the apron 59 to the hopper of the second stripper device indicated in Figure 2 by II. The stems which are too heavy to be drawn through the constricted passage 15 in the second suction sorting device'at the left hand of Figure 2, and shown in Figure 3, drop upon the apron 68 and are moved in the direction of the arrow 68a to the discharge box 8|.

It will have been noted that the heavier tobacco which has been subjected to stripping action and sorted once, is again subjected to another stripping and sorting operation. But instead of using the same stripping and sorting devices over again, an auxiliary stripping device and a smaller sorting device is provided, which are specially made for partially stripped tobacco. When the same stripping device is used for different conditions of tobacco; then the second run is not at all satisfactory, as the strippers are too large for the finer tobacco, finer in the sense of having less leafage, since the larger part of the initial leaves has already been stripped. By permanently adjusting the second stripping device and sorting device to the material upon which they are to operate, a much better separation of stem from leaf is obtained and in a way not at all possible when the same stripping device is used over again.

Instead of one auxiliary stripping and sorting device, a plurality can be used, each adapted to carry out its special action of acting upon previously stripped tobacco.

The stripping devices and sorters are arranged next to each other, and the tobacco from these strippers is transported by a common transport band to the sorters, and then by transport bands below the machine conducted from one to the other, and by suitable transporting means connected either to the strippers or to collecting chutes therefor. The advantage is that the entire installation is simple in construction and provides simple means to handle the tobacco, depending on its condition.

There has been shown and described an apparatus for stripping and sorting tobacco leaves, in which the material of the tobacco after being put through a stripper, has been sorted by the use of ventilation or suction fans, and thereafter a part of the tobacco is subjected to a new and different stripping action, the second stripping being arranged adjacent the flrst stripping, and the sccondstripping device having a special arrangement to adapt itself to partially stripped tobacco; and in which a plurality of step by step auxiliary devices may be used, in conformity with i the condition of the tobacco. Finally, there has been pointed out that a common feed apron supplies the stripped tobacco to the sorter, and parts of the tobacco are thereafter conducted to aprons extending below the common apron, which aprons conduct the material to be treated to the next operation. I a

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable of variation and modification without departing from the spirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations, modifications and adaptations as come within the scope of the appended claims.

It is claimed as new: 1. A stripping and sorting machine, comprising a frame, a stripping device for tobacco leaves, a

sorting device, means for feeding the tobacco from the stripping device to the sorting device to separate the leaves from the stems, a second stripping device, means for conducting stems with partial leaves thereon to said second stripping device, and a second sorter for said second stripper, said strippers and sorters being laterally adjacent each other, the second stripper being constructed to strip partially stripped tobacco, and the means for feeding the tobacco to the sorters being common to both strippers.

2. A stripping and sorting machine, comprising a frame, a stripping device for tobacco leaves, a sorting device, means for feeding the tobacco from the stripping device to the sorting device to separate the leaves f'romthe stems, a second stripping device, means for conducting stems with partial leavesthereon tosaid second stripping device, and a second sorter for said second stripper, said strippers and sorters being laterally 'adjacent each other, the second stripper being constructed tostrip partially stripped tobacco, the

means for feeding the tobacco to the sorters being common to both strippers, and said means for conducting the stems with partial leaves being arranged to pass from one side-of the machine to the other.

3. A stripping and sorting machine, comprising a plurality of stripping devices laterally adjacent each other, a plurality of sorting devices laterally adjacent each other, means common to all stripping and-sorting devices to feed tobacco from the stripping devices to the sorting devices, and means for transporting partially stripped tobacco, from a sorter to the next adjacent stripping device, said next adjacent stripping device being specially constructed to strip partially stripped 

